Can a SC trooper in an unmarked car pull you over? Here’s what state law says

You’re speeding down a South Carolina highway and soon you see a car behind you with blue lights flashing inside but no law enforcement markings.

Is this a real highway patrol car? And can the officer pull you over?

Yes and yes.

The South Carolina Department of Public Safety has been using unmarked vehicles for almost four years. And they might not be the gray color normally associated with The Highway Patrol. They could be white, black or blue and have racing stripes down the hood.

“They are used statewide, and the troopers driving unmarked vehicles do the same job duties as troopers who drive fully marked vehicles,” said Captain Sonny Collins, spokesman for the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Known as Area Coordinated Enforcement (ACE) teams when they were set up in July 2021, they were intended to curb an increase in aggressive driving as well as to shorten response times in areas that have high call volumes.

“The unmarked vehicles do enhance the detection of aggressive and impaired drivers,” Collins said.

The number of fatal car accidents have decreased every year since the program began, according to Public Safety statistics. Last year there were 913 fatalities, compared to 1,112 in 2021.

When the program was announced, SCDPS Director Robert Woods IV said troopers had seen an increase in aggressive driving, including speeds of over 100 mph, tailgating, drunken, or drugged driving and road rage.

Crash data is used to determine where the troopers are most needed.

State Transport Police also have unmarked vehicles.

The Highway Patrol offers these tips about what to do if you are wary about being over by an officer in an unmarked car:

• Call *HP to verify it is truly a trooper. This number can also be used to report speeding, road rage or other bad driving of other motorists.
  
  
• The officer will pull alongside your vehicle so you can see they are in uniform or follow you to an area you are more comfortable in.
  
  
• They may also call for a marked vehicle to come to the traffic stop.